One Sweet Day
"One Sweet Day" is a song by American singer Mariah Carey and R&B group Boyz II Men. The song was written by Carey, Walter Afanasieff and Boyz II Men: Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Nathan Morris, and Michael McCary. "One Sweet Day" was produced by Carey and Afanasieff for her fifth studio album, Daydream, and was released as the album's second single on November 14, 1995. The song speaks about the death of a loved one, how the protagonist took their presence for granted and misses them, and finally about seeing the person in heaven. Both Carey and Boyz II Men wrote the song about specific people in their lives, being inspired by sufferers of the AIDS epidemic, which was globally prevalent at that time. "One Sweet Day" received widespread acclaim from critics, many of whom praised its lyrical content and vocals, as well as calling it a standout track from Daydream. It was ranked first in Rolling Stone's reader's poll for the Best Collaboration of All Time. The song spent 16 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, becoming the longest running number one song on the chart. Subsequently, "One Sweet Day" became the Billboard's most successful song of the 1990s, topping the Hot 100 decade-end chart. Internationally, the song topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand, and reached the top-ten in Australia, Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Carey performed "One Sweet Day" live alongside Boyz II Men at the 38th Grammy Awards ceremony, held on February 26, 1996. Additionally, the song was performed at Princess Diana's memorial service in September 1997. "One Sweet Day" was part of the set list on several of Carey's succeeding tours, making its debut during the album's accompanying set of concerts, the Daydream World Tour. It is featured on her compilation albums, #1's (1998), Greatest Hits (2001), The Ballads (2008), and #1 to Infinity (2015). The music video for "One Sweet Day" was filmed in February 1995, and features snippets of Carey and Boyz II Men in and around the studio, and recording the song. The busy schedule of both Carey and Boyz II Men did not allow time to record a proper video. The singer later said that she was content a real music video was never filmed, fearing that no video could truly capture the song's strong lyrical message. Critics felt the video choice was wise, and agreed that the simple concept paid homage to the song's selfless message. Category:1995 singles Category:Songs written by Mariah Carey Category:Songs written by Walter Afanasieff Category:Boyz II Men songs Category:Mariah Carey songs Category:Song recordings produced by Walter Afanasieff Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Category:Billboard Adult Top 40 number-one singles Category:Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles Category:Billboard Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) number-one singles Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles Category:Songs in memory of deceased persons Category:Pop ballads Category:Rhythm and blues ballads Category:Songs written by Nathan Morris Category:1995 songs Category:Columbia Records singles Category:Songs written by Wanya Morris Category:Sony Music Entertainment singles Category:Songs written by Shawn Stockman